Collaborative Insight October 2016 - ISSUE 40

Collaborative Working across the Emergency Services Value Chain

19th October 2016

The latest executive Network event took place on the 19th October and our thanks to Bluelightworks who sponsored the event at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers attended by over 100 members and guest. It provide a broad insight to the workings and challenges faced by the emergency services and how collaboration was key to providing front line services in a changing world.

The latest executive Network event took place on the 19th October and our thanks to Bluelightworks who sponsored the event at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers attended by over 100 members and guest. It provide a broad insight to the workings and challenges faced by the emergency services and how collaboration was key to providing front line services in a changing world.

Bluelightworks Overview - Clive Morgan

Clive Morgan, Bluelightworks

Clive was appointed Bluelightworks Programme Director in June 2015. Clive has been involved with the defence and aerospace industry for nearly 40 years, Bluelightworks is now in its 3rd year; it has matured since its creation in 2013. The Home Office has recognised the potential in the BLW model to access industry's knowledge to better inform key transformation decisions.

The Partnership has over 120 organisations, including 70 SMEs and 3 Universities to provide an Evidence Based Exploration Community (EBEC) established to co-ordinate shared interests of multiple agencies.

Bluelightworks provides the evidence required to support strategic decision making and was created to act as enabler to transformation by providing "Evidenced Based Decision Support" to help effective delivery of; organisation change, business process re-engineering, more effective engagement with industry and academia, better multi-agency collaboration, technology enablers.

Working on a broad front Bluelightworks has successfully undertaken projects for a range of customers.Collaboration with Industry and its customers in other domains to tap into experience of analogous challenges and how to address them. By collaborating across individual initiatives BLW can bring consistency, mutual awareness and reuse of best practice.

Digital Transformation Perspective - Hacer Evans, Sussex Police

Hacer Evans, Sussex Police

Hacer is currently the Director for the NPCC Digital Policing Programme; a critical national-level major project which will bring about significant changes in the way frontline police officers operate, as well as supporting transformation of the wider criminal justice system.

The Digital Portfolio is a single national owner of the policing vision for Digital Transformation.

It will ensure that all digital change initiatives conducted by police, or for police, adhere to agreed strategic principles. The portfolio, comprising three key digital programmes, will direct digital transformation initiatives to align to national strategic drivers and requirements and is a critical strand of transformation work and its final delivery will fundamentally shift the 'ways of working' across policing and with the Criminal Justice System.

The Digital Policing Portfolio is an integral part of the National delivery landscape where Collaboration across key national programmes is vital for successful delivery. A reformed policing model that is able to respond to the changing landscape proactively and with agility. Providing appropriate channels of communications and services for the public.

University Perspective - Professor David Allen, Leeds University

Professor David Allen, Leeds University

David is a Professor of Information Management in Leeds University Business School where he directs the AIMTech Research Centre. Over the last ten years David has led over 45 externally funded research projects into the use and deployment of information technologies in the public sector.

He presented his perspectives based on recent research on the current state and Challenges, issues and lesson learnt in blue light collaboration.

SME Perspective - Dr Andrew Dixon, SVGC

Dr Andrew Dixon, SVGC

Andrew is now the Managing Director of SVGC - a leading consultancy which has established an international network of partner SME companies providing decision support and analytical services to the public sector. He outlined his learning from working in the defence sector and also the challenges for an SME entering new sectors.

Collaboration is a competency which improves with experience. There is much in Defence which is applicable to the Emergency Services. SVGC is collaborating with Bluelightworks to improve our understanding and network across the emergency services sector. In order to transfer solutions into a new domain and to develop new solutions for mutual benefit.

The Home Office Perspective - Steve Whatson, ESMCP

Steve Whatson, ESMCP

Steve joined the Home Office in January 2014 as Deputy Director on the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP) in charge of the Technical Solutions area. Steve has recently changed roles within the ESMCP. He is now Head of User Engagement and Transition.

The Technical Solutions area is responsible for the delivery of the User Services and Mobile Services Lots in the main procurement, a number of related procurements (extended area services, handheld and vehicle devices, air to ground network and devices and control room upgrades) and dependent programmes such as Mobile Infrastructure Programme, Crossrail and London Underground.

The Emergency Services Network is a new innovative voice & data service that will provide enhanced 4G LTE Network. It will deliver critical voice & data for priority use by the police, fire and ambulance. Providing more capable broadband data as standard that will improve public safety through Nationwide coverage, reaching remote areas providing enhanced functionality.

Steve was supported by Mantas Bolys who has been focusing on the Cultural differences between public and private sector organisations that subtly underpin many behaviours. It is important to find safe ways to acknowledge these openly and to agree ways to work with them in order to make ESN work. Simple things matter (organisational charts, networking opportunities, access to information sharing systems, communication).

Fire - Jim Peddie, Kent Fire & Rescue Service

Jim Peddie, Kent Fire & Rescue Service

Following a career in the private sector, since 2007 Jim has been Head of Procurement and Fleet for Kent Fire & Rescue Service, based at service Headquarters in Maidstone. He also participated in the National Procurement Group for Fire for five years and is currently supporting the newly formed Fire National Procurement Hub, working with the Commercial team at the Home Office.

Jim provided us with some insight to the work he had done across the fire service in the development of firefighter personal protection equipment. A collaboration which started with 4 fire services in 2000 has now grown to 20 services and over 20,000 fire fighters. He highlighted the challenges of developing and collaborative approach but also the benefits that have been achieved.

Public and Private Sector Working Together - Alastair Morley, BAM Nuttall

Alastair Morley, BAM Nuttall

Alastair has worked for Bam Nuttall since August 2015 and is currently Design Manager, and has been responsible for the design delivery of wide variety of Network Rail schemes throughout Western and Wales.

Many recognised the Dawlish Emergency following the storms in February 2014. Network Rail appointed BAM Nuttall as Principal Contractor for the entire remediation of the major storm damage to Dawlish Sea Wall in Devon. There had been several significant failures along a 2km stretch of one of the most scenic railway lines in the Country, with wash outs, landslips and various other storm damage. BAM Nuttall worked collaboratively with other contractors in the region to establish a course of action to deal with the multiple failures in the safest and most expeditious manner.

Police - Lee Tribe, Home Office

Lee Tribe, Home Office

Following his successful tenure at the Metropolitan Police Lee joined the Home Office in May 2016 as Commercial Director of Police & Fire. To drive maximum value for the Home Office from all stages of the commercial lifecycle to invest in front line services.

Lee highlighted the challenging times and the need for Better value procurement to reduce pressure on other spending & allow more to be spent on frontline policing. He referenced the NAO reports on Police procurement point to significant room for improvement with 26 Different Procurement Teams in Policing, 43 Different Police Forces and Fire & Rescue Service transferred to Home Office - 1 April 2016.

The Collaborative Law Enforcement Procurement (CLEP) Programme supports the achievement of better value for money from expenditure on goods and services by the police and other law enforcement organisations in England and Wales. It will identify the costs, benefits and changes required to achieve: greater opportunities for collaborative purchasing at a strategic level, opportunities to leverage the CCS for common goods and services, increased standardisation of specifications, more effective contract and supplier management, improved procurement processes , including the full integration of procurement and the adoption of e-invoicing.

The presentations were followed by a panel session, which was one of the most interactive we have seen in recent years.